Sandeep Sharma, pacer of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) — a team that won against RCB, praised his teammate — T Natarajan saying he is an essential aspect of the team’s pace bowling attack — and asserted that it is a joy to watch him bowling at one end.
On Saturday night, SRH defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after successfully chasing 121 with 35 balls to spare.
Sandeep Sharma: T Natarajan Worked Hard On his Variations Especially Yorkers
Besides, T Natarajan played a quintessential role in helping his team to restrict RCB as none of the batsmen were given the freedom to score freely. The improved bowler Natarajan conceded only 11 runs from his quota of four overs and managed a wicket of Washington Sundar as Royal Challengers Bangalore could only manage 120 in their allotted 20 overs.
“I have been playing with him for the last 4-5 years, he was with me in Kings XI Punjab. This year he is totally different bowler. He has worked so hard on his variations, especially yorkers,” Sandeep Sharma said during the post-match press conference.
“I was talking to him in the lockdown, he was practicing only yorkers in his own ground. The way he is executing, it is a treat to watch. It is very important for us to have someone like him. He is an integral part of SRH’s bowling attack,” he added.
Sandeep Sharma, who himself bowled his heart out was declared Man of the Match after returning with figures of 2/20 in his four overs whereas, T Natarajan, Shahbaz Nadeem and Rashid Khan picked one wicket apiece. Jason Holder too managed to bag two wickets besides scoring unbeaten 26 from just 10 balls.
Sandeep Sharma: Losing Bhuvneshwar Kumar A Big Setback
Earlier, the veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was ruled out of the tournament on October 5 after suffering an injury. Sandeep Sharma said SRH missed him and was a huge setback for the team which led to players taking extra authority since no one can take his place.
The experienced campaigner Kumar played only four matches taking three wickets in IPL 2020. Overall, he has 136 wickets from 121 matches under his belt.
“When we lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar, it was a big setback for us. No one can take his place, he is one of the best in the business. After that, we spoke that we need to take extra responsibility. We have been working hard in the nets and we are able to execute on the field,” he said.
SRH are currently placed 4th with 12 points from six wins in 13 matches — and Sandeep Sharma said they are going to take the next and their last match as a “do or die” game.
“When we spoke that we have to go and just express ourselves. We have nothing to lose and with the same attitude, we are going to go in the next game. It is just like do or die game for us,” Sandeep Sharma said.
SunRisers Hyderabad next face Mumbai Indians who have already qualified for playoffs in the last group match of IPL 2020 on 3rd November.